Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to an image heating apparatus that heats and image on a sheet. The image heating apparatus is used in image forming apparatuses such as, for example, a copier, a printer, a fax machine, and a multi-functional apparatus provided with a plurality of the above functions.
Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, in image forming apparatuses such as an electrophotographic apparatus and an electrostatic recording apparatus, a toner image (a developer image) is formed on a sheet and is heated and compressed with a fixing apparatus serving as an image heating apparatus to fix the image on the sheet. In recent years, from the viewpoint of energy saving, a fixing apparatus of a type that uses a heat generating belt including a resistance layer has been proposed as a fixing apparatus with quick temperature rise (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2014-232302). In the fixing apparatus of the above type, since the heat generating belt itself generates heat upon energization of the resistance layer, the heat of the belt can be efficiently transmitted to the sheet.
Furthermore, in the fixing apparatus described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2014-232302, a ring-shaped member is attached to an outer peripheral surface of the belt and power is fed to the resistance layer of the belt through the ring-shaped member. Such a configuration is capable of increasing the life of the belt.
However, such ring-shaped member goes through thermal expansion when heated upon execution of the fixing process and, accordingly, the adhesion with the belt decreases. Decrease in adhesion creates an unstable electrical connection between the ring-shaped member and brings about an occurrence of power feed failure.